8.8
HIGH CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-57996
phpMyFAQ - Privilege Escalation via Missing SuperAdmin Guard in user/add Endpoint
Description

phpMyFAQ before 4.1.5 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the user/add API endpoint that allows non-SuperAdmin administrators to create SuperAdmin accounts. A delegated administrator with USER_ADD/EDIT/DELETE permissions can call POST /admin/api/user/add with isSuperAdmin: true and attacker-chosen credentials to create a SuperAdmin account, then authenticate as that account to achieve full instance takeover.

INFO

Published Date :

July 15, 2026, 12:18 p.m.

Last Modified :

July 15, 2026, 12:18 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-57996 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

No affected product recoded yet

CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 HIGH 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10
CVSS 3.1 HIGH [email protected]
CVSS 4.0 HIGH 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10
CVSS 4.0 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Update phpMyFAQ to version 4.1.5 or later to fix privilege escalation.
  • Update phpMyFAQ to version 4.1.5 or later.
  • Restrict USER_ADD/EDIT/DELETE permissions.
  • Review existing administrator privileges.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2026-57996.

URL Resource
https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-r2f4-v277-hvw9
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-privilege-escalation-via-missing-superadmin-guard-in-user-add-endpoint
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-57996 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-57996 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-57996 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-57996 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Jul. 15, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Affected [{'vendor': 'phpMyFAQ', 'product': 'phpMyFAQ', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '4.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '4.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver'}], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}]
    Added Description phpMyFAQ before 4.1.5 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the user/add API endpoint that allows non-SuperAdmin administrators to create SuperAdmin accounts. A delegated administrator with USER_ADD/EDIT/DELETE permissions can call POST /admin/api/user/add with isSuperAdmin: true and attacker-chosen credentials to create a SuperAdmin account, then authenticate as that account to achieve full instance takeover.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-269
    Added Reference https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-r2f4-v277-hvw9
    Added Reference https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-privilege-escalation-via-missing-superadmin-guard-in-user-add-endpoint
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.